Surprise!
by Celestriakle
Summary: Shinji proves just how paranoid he can be when a sudden meeting ends with both him and Conway in the hospital. Conway x Shinji. One shot.


(Read and review, please.)

_Inflate... Bigger, bigger, and..._ Pop! The bubble gum exploded all over Shinji's face, and he contently pulled it all back into his mouth as he continued down the route. The dirt path was well traveled, but it was still somewhat narrow and trees and bushes lined both sides. His hands never strayed far from his pokeballs. A rustling in the bushes caused him to freeze, and he looked around suspiciously. _Where..._ For better or for worse, his search produced nothing; gradually, he relaxed enough to start walking again, but he still kept a careful eye on the surrounding landscape, occasionally cracking his gum.

"HAI SHIN—" _BAM._

The moment the voice cried out, Shinji turned and swung, and his fist met Conway square in the face. Glass shattered, and both boys bled. "Shitshitshit!" he cursed; Conway had hit the ground hard and now lay unconscious, the twisted remains of his glasses strewn in and about his face. With his uninjured hand, Shinji fumbled about his belt and whipped out a pokeball, tossing it into the air. "Honchcrow! Get us to the hospital, now!"

The big boss bird had no trouble getting both boys there, with Shinji on its back and Conway in its talons. Upon arrival, Conway was immediately taken away for emergency surgery to remove the shrapnel from his face, and Shinji was taken somewhere a little less urgent to get the glass shards removed from his hand and have it bandaged. He clenched his teeth during the painful process, and afterward, on threat of charges, he obediently answered all the questions thrown at him, including the information so they could call Reiji to come fetch him. Despite himself, he felt a little guilty—he had never sent anyone into _surgery_ before. So when the doctors were finished and he was stuck waiting, he went to see how his fellow was doing.

As soon as Shinji explained the situation, the nurse on hand let him into the curtain that separated Conway from the rest of the world. He saw with an odd mixture of relief and disappointment that Conway was awake... He looked different without his glasses, but that probably had much to do with the eye patch he now sported and the other little bandages that decorated his face. "Um... Hey... How are you doing?" he asked, more than a little awkwardly.

Conway shrugged. "The right half of my face hurts."

"Yeah..." Slowly, he ambled over to Conway's bedside. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't know it was you..." Looking up, he noticed that the other boy's usual clothes had been traded out for that itchy, awful, drafty hospital garb.

"Don't be. It was my fault; I surprised you." He smiled at Shinji, but faltered after a while upon his staring. "...What?"

"Is that comfortable?" Shinji pointed at Conway's gown.

Conway grimaced and shook his head. "No, not at all. "

"...Can you stand?"

"What?"

"Get up. Let me do this, and we can call it even." Shinji unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off as Conway rose, confused.

"What are you...?"

"Here." He shoved the jacket at Conway, and began rummaging around in his bag.

"Um... I don't—"

Shinji sighed, interrupting, "Put on my clothes so you don't have to wear _that._" He gestured disdainfully at the gown as he withdrew his spare pair of pants.

"Oh!" Conway smiled as he reached back to take off the gown but immediately hit a wall. "Um... Shinji..." He turned around; he couldn't reach—and in some cases find—the ties. "Help?"

Impatiently, Shinji draped the pants over his arm and went over, quickly pulling apart the ties. With the last one, the gown fell, and he immediately looked away, resisting the blush that wanted to take his cheeks. He felt the pants snatched from his arm and heard the rustling as clothes were swapped. When it quieted, he looked over to see Conway dressed, at least mostly. After having struggled and failed with the pants button, he tried his hand at the zipper of the jacket, but unfortunately suffered as much trouble with that as the former. "Useless..." he mumbled, then said more loudly, "Let me do it."

Shinji stepped in front of Conway, took both of his hands, removed them from the clothes, and tossed them to their respective sides so he could do his work. Obediently, Conway watched and waited as Shinji slowly did the button, zipped the zipper, and zipped up the jacket. He watched as Shinji's fingers pulled that little tab all the way up his stomach and chest until their eyes met. "It's a perfect fit," he whispered.

"Mm... Mm-hm." Gruffly, Shinji nodded, looking away.

Conway smiled and reached for Shinji, but then a voice cried, "SHINJJIII!" and the focus of both boys shot up.

"Aniki," he heard Shinji whisper. He looked at Conway and said, "I better go. Bring those clothes back to me nice, ok?" Picking up his bag, he rushed out of the section to meet his brother.

"Ok..." Conway climbed back into bed; despite himself, he was tired. He curled up tight, pressing his arms to his face. Everything smelled like Shinji.


End file.
